In February, after Twitter messages he sent to the 24-year-old Texas woman during the president’s State of the Union address received media attention, Cohen revealed that he was Brink’s father. He said he learned about the relationship three years ago and was overjoyed.

In Thursday’s statement, he said he still loves Brink and hopes to remain in her life.

Cohen says he was “stunned and dismayed when DNA tests disproved what Victoria and I believed about our relationship.”